Saturday, March 5, 2011

Cat's microchip issue

When we moved from the US to the Czech Republic, we implanted a microchip into gG's back as it was one of the requirements.

Now that we have been laying out lots of different scenarios for our next step, we wanted to make sure that gG, our furry son, can travel with us wherever the desination we choose.

So, we went to the Czech vet and were about to get the process going such as getting another rabies vaccination and blood test, etc. But, the Czech vet needs to be able to identify gG by reading the microchip the US vet implanted about a year and half ago. Guess what? When the vet tried to scan gG's microchip, she couldn't. She even called for a help by another vet, and they still couldn't. gG was relieved to escape the sharp needle, but we were stuck.

We came back home and did some research and found out that the microchip our US vet implanted was not an ISO-standardized chip which has a 15-digit number but was something called AVID Eurochip which has a 10-digit number. Here are some more information my hubby found:

PETS TRAVELING TO AN EU COUNTRY: If you are traveling to an EU Country then you want the 15 digit chip which meets ISO standards 11784/11785 134.2 kHz FECAVA. We recommend the Datamars (Crystal Tag) microchip.

PETS TRAVELING IN EUROPE AND LIVING IN EUROPE: If you are living in Europe or traveling throughout Europe then you should use a microchip a 15 digit chip at 134.2 khz such as the Datamars (Crystal Tag) microchip.

PETS TRAVELING TO OTHER COUNTRIES: For travel to all countries you should use ISO 15 digit microchip that meets ISO standards 11784/11785.

Some of the Datamars scanners, which are the standard scanner in EU, seem to be able to read the AVID Eurochip, but the vet doesn't seem to have them. If they can't read the chip, we need to implant another microchip into gG's back :( How pathetic is that? gG the cat with two microchips :(

If you are traveling to the EU with your cat, make sure to ask your vet to implant the 15-digit microchip that meets ISO standards 11784/11785.